SARATOGA SPRINGS — Joseph A. Browne died September 10, 2021. Calling hours are from 11 a.m. to 12 noon on Friday, September 17 at Compassionate Funeral Care followed by a graveside service in St. Agnes Cemetery, 48 Cemetery Ave, Menands, NY following the service at the funeral home. Online condolences, visit www.compassionatefuneralcare.com
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Last week, I noticed that New York City will again be hosting the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with spectators. The City of Schenectady is also planning to host their Holiday Parade the Saturday before Thanksgiving. In early August, I was in Schuylerville as that community hosted their Turning Point Parade. I was a volunteer at the recent Malta 5K and I know Clifton Park did a parade, concert and fireworks on July 4th. In Saratoga Springs, the Flag Day Parade took place on Sept. 11.
Our City has a history of hosting events all through the year that attract local residents and visitors. In 2019, I believe the City issued permits for more than sixty events. The pandemic caused most events to be cancelled. We didn’t have First Night, Chowderfest, Firecracker 4, All American July 4th Festival, the Fall Festival, the Christopher Dailey Turkey Trot, or the Victorian Streetwalk, among others for a year or more.
In July, I had an absolute blast taking part in the Firecracker 4. I was one of the 2,000 runners who ran through the streets to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day. Bob and Mary Vanderminden, Peter Goutos, Keith VanVeghten and a team of volunteers made this happen. They pulled if off in just about thirty days. The city was a huge help. The Saratoga County Chamber, Discover Saratoga, the DBA, and the City Center helped too. We all thought seeing photos of a couple of thousand people running down Broadway would lift people’s spirits and make it clear that Saratoga was open again.
Events are big business for many in Saratoga. They also help to bring locals together and to enhance the quality of living here. The people they attract downtown often spend money generating sales and occupancy taxes. In some cases, the money raised supports vital services of value to our neighbors. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, I hope we can build these events back better.
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Here’s three suggestions to do this:
1. Let’s allow event organizers to secure a two-year permit. This could be reserved for organizations that do their event on the same day, same time and same place every year. It will save the organizers time preparing applications and City official’s time reviewing them. Instead of filing a new application every year for the same event, the organizers should be required to detail just any changes they might be making from one year to the next.
2. Establish a fixed fee for each type of event. Right now, the charges from the city can vary from year to year. Every increase in costs assessed by the city means the host organization has to raise more money. These fees should be fixed for the two year period of the contract as well. The reality is sponsor dollars for events was already getting challenging before the pandemic. It could get even harder now.
3. Host an annual meeting with all event organizers every year. It could be in person or via Zoom. This might be really important with so many new people likely to be taking office in the New Year. Better communication almost always leads to better coordination. State rules often change as do security measures or now more than ever public health protocols. Getting a clear sense early in the year as to what events will be held could help everyone to plan better. This might also be a great forum to talk about sharing volunteer lists or collectively purchasing items that all events need.
Several years ago, we finally created a single online calendar to promote our local events. This action had been talked about for years. Getting this done has made it easier for residents and visitors to find out what’s happening in Saratoga. It also made it easier for event organizers who can now post their event information on any of the participating sites knowing that information is fed to websites including: www.saratoga.com, www.saratoga.org, www.discoversaratoga.org, www.saratogaspringsdowntown.com, www.saratogacitycenter.org, and www.skidmore.edu.
Restarting our community’s signature events is important. This collaboration means we can promote them like never before. Now we just need to make them a little simpler to organize and less expensive to host. That’s how we can build back better!
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Beekman Street Arts District invites the public to celebrate its 20 year anniversary Sept. 17-19 with a series of events open and free to all.
The vision for a new arts district in Saratoga began in the spring of 2000 when Amejo Amyot, Deb Martin and Phil Haggerty called a general meeting at the Saratoga Springs Public Library to assess the local interest for an arts district. Over 50 artists attended and FISH, Finearts Initiative for Studios and Housing was hatched.
The weekend events are:
Friday: Pop-up 5-7:30 p.m., visiting artists set up on lawns and porches of Beekman Street with SSHS Fiddle Club and other live music. Lisa David opening reception for “People, Places and Things: 1972” – Eden Compton Gallery, 79 Beekman 5-7 p.m. Principessa Elena Italian dinner, 10 Oak St, eat in or take out. Beekman Street shops and galleries open late
Saturday: Live model session open to all artists- garden at Eden Compton Gallery, 79 Beekman, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
20th Anniversary of the Arts District reception – Living Resources, 70 Beekman, 5-8 p.m. 10 x 10 art show by past and present Beekman St artists, History of the West Side presentation by Mary Ann Fitzgerald, Saratoga Springs city historian.
Sunday: Erasing Spaces and Faces, Frederick Allen Lodge, 69 Beekman, 2-4 p.m. Open mic for community sharing stories of displacement during Urban Renewal 2-3 p.m.
QUEENSBURY — The Adirondack Balloon Festival will return for its 48th year, with a brand-new format.
“This will not be the same-old, same-old Adirondack Balloon Festival you know from years past,” says Mark Donahue, President of the organization’s Board of Directors, in a statement. “Due to COVID, we had to totally reinvent the festival this year. We are excited to bring back the joy and wonder of the mass ascensions, while keeping safe and still having fun.”
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The 48th annual Adirondack Balloon Festival takes place Thursday to Sunday, Sept. 23 to 26. The event is 100% free for the community. Festival Merchandise, one of the event’s biggest fundraisers, will be for sale at select events, with a smaller selection than in previous years.
Due to ever-changing policies from multiple agencies, the official schedule has been delayed but the dates, Sept. 23-26 have not changed and all upcoming launches/events will be from Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport in Queensbury.
For the most up-to-date information about festival locations and events, go to: www.adirondackballoonfest.org.
MALTA — Malta Veteran Appreciation Program has dedicated and donated their second house to a deserving local veteran.
On Sunday, Sept. 12, a ceremony and ribbon cutting was held to welcome a local veteran and his family to their new home in Malta Gardens Park. The home, donated by the Solomon Organization, is the second Homes to Heroes project completed by the Malta Veteran Appreciation Program.
The 3 bedroom, 2 full-bath home was fully gutted and remodeled. It now features a modern farmhouse kitchen, ample closet/storage space, plenty of natural lighting from brand-new windows, and even a small deck off the living room space.
This is the second Homes for Heroes project completed by Malta Veteran Appreciation Program. The first was a tiny home built in the same park and donated two years ago. Local contractors, trade unions, and volunteers donate their labor and materials. You can watch a video of the full remodel process here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ey16v9Wdc4&feature=youtu.be.
“We do this to improve the lives of veterans and improve neighborhood,” said Renee Farley, Chairperson, Malta Veteran Appreciation Program. “We are hoping to create a better community and a better park.”
Farley also noted that three local students who volunteered their time have taken an interest in the trades and aspire to attend trade schools; even children as young as six years old were helping with the yard work.
“The military has served us, and now it’s our turn to serve them,” said Farley.”
When the remodel is close to being complete, the Program asks the community for the names of local veterans in need. The two requirements are that they live in Saratoga County and have an honorable DD214 discharge. An appropriate veteran (and family) is picked for the size of the house, but they keep a list of names for future houses.
The Malta Veteran Appreciation Program also provides other charitable support services to veterans in Saratoga County, such as helping them get medical transportation, home repairs, and buying groceries.
Support the Malta Veterans Appreciation Program and help locate our veterans in need by visiting www.maltavets.com or reaching out to MaltaVets@gmail.com.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — As the summer season comes to an end, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation offers a fall calendar packed with Sunday Strolls, bike tours, and more! Autumn Series events are offered this Sunday through Oct. 24.
On Sunday, Sept. 19, Charlie Kuenzel will explore the historic landscape architecture of Congress Park, share about the history of Saratoga and its springs, and highlight the Canfield Casino. Historic Congress Park tour meets in Congress Park in front of the Canfield Casino at 10:30 a.m.
Additional Autumn Strolls include tours of mail-order houses of the east side on October 3rd, the return of Pups for Preservation on Oct. 17 when dogs and their humans stroll North Broadway, and the Gut neighborhood on Oct. 24.
All Sunday morning tours last approximately 90 minutes and require walking and standing on varied terrain. Tours will be limited to 30 people and tickets must be purchased in advance. The cost per tour is $15 for SSPF members and $20 for non-members. Members who have received complimentary Stroll passes should contact the Foundation directly to reserve their ticket.
In addition to the Autumn Strolls, the Foundation will be offering bike tours of the Saratoga Spa State Park on Sunday, Sept. 26 and Saturday, Oct. 9. Bike tours last approximately three hours, attendees must bring or rent their bike, and space is limited.
The Foundation is also hosting its popular Twilight Cemetery Tour “Madness, Murder, Untimely Deaths, and Strange Coincidences,” on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. which provides a rare opportunity to explore Greenridge Cemetery at dusk with tour leader Gloria May. Tickets for the Bike Tours and the Twilight Cemetery Tour are $20 for SSPF Members and $25 for non-members.
For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.saratogapreservation.org, call 518-587-5030, or email Nicole Babie, Membership & Programs Director: nbabie@saratogapreservation.org.
BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County Officials announced a new initiative designed to help get people back into the workforce. WorkPays! is a public education campaign that showcases the services provided by the Saratoga County Career Center and promotes the importance to returning to the workforce.
The Federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) supplement of $300 ended on Sept. 4. Extended UI benefits, which allowed for claimants to receive benefits beyond 26-weeks have also ended. This means that only claimants in the regular 26-week UI window will continue to receive benefits.
The Saratoga County Career Center offers many free services and resources to help those returning to the workforce. The Career Center offers free virtual workshops designed to help individuals master the job search process. Topics include Transferable Skills, Goal Setting, Resume Development, Interview Prep, and more. These workshops are ideal for anyone who may feel they need assistance approaching the job search process or who need help changing careers. To see the schedule and register, please visit https://thejoblink.org/calendar. The New York State Department of Labor has also launched the virtual Career Center at careeronestop.org, that provides resources for job-seekers.
The Career Center also offers a free, self-guided eLearning courses through Metrix, a national online training company. There are more than 5,000 courses available, and no maximum limit of courses one can take. Courses include skills development for clerical, healthcare, financial, manufacturing, and IT industries; software training for platforms such as Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop, and Auto CAD, and business development courses such as leadership training, conflict resolution and more. Saratoga County residents can register for a free account at www.metrixlearning.com to take courses and earn certifications to bolster their skills and resume.
The Career Center also provides one-on-one guidance and structured training for career planning and job seeking. Interested residents can call the Career Center at 518-884-4170. Calls are returned within the hour. Please note: The Career Center staff cannot address issues or specific questions about an individual’s UI benefit status. These questions should be directed to the NYS DOL claims center at 1-888-209-8124.
For those who are ready to begin their job search, the Career Center can connect individuals with job search resources such as the New York State Job Bank newyork.usnlx.com, which offers job listings for vacancies throughout New York State and the Job Link, thejoblink.org, which offers job listings for vacancies in Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A four-story, 120-room Marriott AC Hotel is proposed for development at 176 South Broadway. The location currently sites the Turf & Spa Motel, slated for demolition. The project was put on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this week, the Larkin Hospitality group of Burlington, Vermont – the applicant of the proposed project – submitted documents for an extension of an architectural review to the city’s Design Review Commission.
The existing two-story Turf & Spa motel located at the site houses 43 rooms.
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Upcoming Saratoga Springs meetings: City Council pre-agenda meeting (Monday, Sept. 20) and full meeting (Tuesday night, Sept. 21); ZBA Workshop (Monday, Sept. 20), Open Space Advisory Board meeting (Wednesday, Sept. 22), and Planning Board workshop (Thursday, Sept. 23). All meetings are at Saratoga Springs City Hall.
Saratoga County: The full monthly meeting of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors will take place at 4 p.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 40 McMaster St., Ballston Spa.
Ask someone the name of a three-ring circus and their response would likely be Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey, or a combination of the two. Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows was established in 1884 and P.T. Barnum’s Great Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Hippodrome had opened in 1871. Predating both was the biggest, most successful, though also the least known of the traveling shows, Adam Forepaugh’s Great All-Feature Show and Wild West Combined, established in 1863.
For over 30 years the Forepaugh show performed 250 times or more each year, the majority of the stops a single day offering two full shows. One example of this exhausting schedule was the itinerary for the 1889 season given in their 26th Annual Tour report. That year the season opened in Philadelphia on April 22nd and closed in October at Alliance, Ohio. In between, they had given performances across thirteen states. The nearly 400 performers and workmen would almost daily assemble and disassemble what was nearly a complete village of massive tents to house not only the show but stables, dressing rooms, maintenance shops, cooking tents, and dining halls that covered eight acres of ground.
In September of 1890, the Forepaugh show came to Saratoga Springs, one stop in a six-month season that took the performers from Binghamton to Syracuse, Glens Falls, Plattsburg, and numerous other communities across the northeast. 1890 was not the first time this show visited the region. In 1883 & 1888 Forepaugh had also toured upstate New York. The 1883 season also included shows at Albany, Binghamton, Ogdensburg, Buffalo, and on Monday, July 23rd Saratoga Springs, a stop between visits to Fishkill and Fort Edward. In Route Book of the Great Forepaugh Show, Circus Hippodrome and Menagerie: Season 1883 they reported having 478 employees, more than 300 horses, and the show and personnel transported in 64 railway cars. During August of the 1888 season, the show had come through Vermont, dipped south to play Saratoga Springs, and then afterward on to Plattsburgh and the north country.
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The August 15, 1890 edition of the Mechanicville Mercury carried an advertisement for the Forepaugh show as well as a large article highlighting the upcoming performance titled “A Mammoth Show.” Here the show was proclaimed to be a “novel and dazzling pageant,” that would offer both a Wild West Show depicting Custer’s Last Stand and Eclipse, the flying trapeze horse.
The Forepaugh railcars were moved from show to show by as many as five locomotives, often leaving one town after midnight and arriving at their next stop by early the next morning. The first to leave the train were the hundreds of men and boys who would raise the tents, assemble the bleachers and get everything prepared for the show that would start only a few hours later. Once everything was in place, a parade of the hundreds of performers, musicians, animals in cages, and chariots would move through the main streets of the town. Leading the way was a marching band and Adam Forepaugh’s personal carriage pulled by four black horses. This exhibit of all that the show had to offer was free to watch and hundreds, if not thousands would line the route taking in every detail of the exotic scenes and well-rehearsed acts of the showmen.
The two performances each day, starting at 1 and 7 p.m., were the same, the 1889 program giving the opening as an Overture by Prof. Geo. Ganweiler’s Military Band followed by an:
Imposing Spectacular Entrée, In Two Rings, on the Central Stage and Hippodrome Track, exhibiting the principal professional features of the Combined Forepaugh and “Wild West” Shows. Realistic illustrations of life in the romantic wild West.
Immediately following this were 29 acts both in the air and on the ground, sometimes three performances going on at one time under the main tent. After this was a dozen races that included horses, donkeys, elephants, and men. The show concluded with music and dancing ranging from Irish Reels and bagpipes to cowboy bands and music played on hunting horns.
By 1896 the show had a new owner, James A. Bailey, who soon partnered with the Sells Brothers to form the Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus. After Bailey’s death in 1905, the Ringling Brothers acquired the circus and continued operation until finally closing the show in 1911.
